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Misbehaving

The Making of Behavioral Economics

"Traditional economics assumes rational actors. Early in his research, Thaler realized these Spock-like automatons were nothing like real people. Whether buying a clock radio, selling basketball tickets, or applying for a mortgage, we all succumb to biases and make decisions that deviate from the standards of rationality assumed by economists. In other words, we misbehave. More importantly, our misbehavior has serious consequences. Dismissed at first by economists as an amusing sideshow, the study of human miscalculations and their effects on markets now drives efforts to make better decisions in our lives, our businesses, and our governments"--Amazon.com.Argues that economical trends cannot be predicted as much as thought, mainly because humans are so unpredictable, and reveals how behavioral economic analysis opens up new ways to look at everything from household finance to assigning faculty offices in a new building.

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This book explained 2 subjects to me - economics (not my favorite) and behavior (I am fascinated by it). I found it understandable and accessible. Lots of anecdotes and stories that helped put the "dry" spots (theory) into perspective. It's not something I would have reached for normally - I was drawn to the book while browsing in the airport book shop while waiting for a 5 hour flight to California this summer. I bought it thinking it would be a good airplane read. I couldn't put it down! I found it to be a very good overview of the subject which I had heard of but knew very little about. If you're interested in learning some ideas/theories about why people make the decisions they do - this is a good read. Covers the subject - behavioral economics - well and provides a good history of this "science" that impacts us all.